Pan-African Appzone raises $10 mn in series A funding

By Pavithra R

Appzone, digitizing and automating Financial Services across Africa, has announced securing $10mn in Series A funding round led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers.

The investment round saw participation from V8 Capital, Constant Capital, Lateral Investment Partners, and Itanna Capital Ventures. The FinTech is planning to use the finance to bolster it’s core technologies and expand into new countries in a drive to build out a financial operating system intended to completely digitise and automate the delivery of financial services on the continent.

“We’re excited not only to be securing a significant capital raise, but also welcoming on board some strategic investors whose support will be key to our growth journey. Today’s news allows us to scale Appzone’s products and services rapidly. For the last 12 years, we’ve worked in stealth mode, building the really complex infrastructure to power the continent’s growing digital financial services space and forging partnerships with the continent’s biggest financial institutions,” said Appzone’s Co-Founder and CEO Obi Emetarom.

Launched in 2008, Appzone is a Pan-African fintech software provider building proprietary solutions for the continent’s banking and payments industries. The firm offers best-in-class products for digital core banking and interbank transaction processing with clients across 7 African countries including, Access Bank, GT Bank and Zenith Bank. Since its inception, the company, also an alumnus of the Google launchpad accelerator, has led Africa’s fintech sector through radical innovation that resulted in a number of global firsts from the continent.

To date, the company’s platforms have served 18 commercial banks and over 450 microfinance banks, amassing a yearly transaction value and yearly loan disbursement of $2bn and $300mn respectively. In 2018, the FinTech received official approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate as a Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP)

“Our investment in Appzone is further proof of Africa’s potential as the future hub of world class technology. Appzone is building a disruptive FinTech ecosystem that will be the backbone of Africa’s finance industry with products across payments, infrastructure and Software as a Service. The impact of Appzone’s work is multifold – the company’s products deepen financial inclusion across the continent whilst providing best-fit and low cost solutions to financial institutions. Its emphasis on premium talent also helps stem brain drain, rewarding Africa’ best brains with best in class employment opportunities,” said Yomi Jemibewon, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Cardinal Stone Capital Advisers.